Tofaş’s human resources policy is based on recruiting and hiring qualified people who are best suited to its operational needs and on maintaining a workforce-motivating workplace environment. Tofaş strives to create a respectful and trusting work environment that is healthy, safe, and socially rewarding. The company also supports the active involvement of young professionals in the workforce through a variety of programs and initiatives.
An ethics committee that reports directly to the Tofaş Board of Directors is responsible for the oversight and management of human rights at the company. Tofaş adheres to the principles of the United Nations Global Compact, to which both of its controlling shareholders are signatories, and aims to fully abide by all of the principles.
In addition to the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEP) to which the company subscribed in 2017, Tofaş believes that differences in matters pertaining to gender, age, ethnicity, faith, ways of living and forms of expression, and mental and physical abilities, are all sources of richness. Tofaş is committed to tapping into these differences to create value. It reflects this commitment in all of its human resources processes and policies.
Tofaş never tolerates any form of labor rights violations, child labor, forced labor, or discrimination in the conduct of any of its operations. Tofaş aims to extend its human rights approach throughout its entire value chain. The company expects its suppliers and business partners to uphold the same human rights principles as it does. Tofaş has published a “Tofaş Supply Chain Compliance Policy” that provides its suppliers and business partners with guidance on the standards they are expected to follow.
Tofaş incurred no penalties or warnings in 2022 related to any violations of laws and regulations related to any non-compliance with the requirements of social or economic laws and regulations.
Tofaş complies with the following international standards and principles governing human rights:
Inclusiveness & diversity
Tofaş believes that diversity is an asset and a hallmark of a successful corporate culture. The company regards diversity as one of the most crucial components of its human rights approach. Tofaş therefore is mindful of diversity along with knowledge, skills, and competencies in its human resources recruitment and management processes. In the conduct of those processes, no distinctions whatsoever based on age, gender, ethnic origin, or other irrelevant concerns are made or tolerated. Tofaş abides by the “Equal pay for equal” work principle. Every employee with the same competencies and responsibilities is entitled to and benefits from the same opportunities.
Tofaş believes that equal participation in the workforce is one of the most critical factors driving social progress. To this end, the company encourages women to participate in the workforce and strives to increase the percentage of women among its newly-recruited personnel. 28.45% of new personnel hired in 2022 were female.
In both 2020 and 2021, the Ministry of Labor and Social Security cited Tofaş as the company employing more people with disabilities and undertaking more projects to promote their employment than any other company based in Bursa. As of end-2022, Tofaş had 194 workers with disabilities on its payroll. Tofaş aims to increase the number of women and people with disabilities on its payroll by 2026 through new and enhanced initiatives. Tofaş aims to increase the percentage of female employees from 25% to 35% and of people with disabilities from 3.3% to 5% among its office staff. Tofaş aims to increase the representation of women in technology and innovation positions from 18% to 30% and in technology and innovation management roles from 13% to 20% by 2026.
|
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
% female employees receiving promotions |
16% |
9% |
5% |
29% |
9% |
% female employees |
10.4% |
10.3% |
9.7% |
10.1% |
10.1% |
% female mid-senior level employees |
40% |
33% |
28% |
21% |
28.45% |
% disabled employees |
5.6% |
5.9% |
5.9% |
5.9% |
5.9% |
|
Current (2022) |
Target (2026) |
% female applicants |
17% |
40% |
% female employees |
10.1% |
35% |
% disabled employees |
3.2% |
5% |
% physically disabled employees |
- |
15% |
HIRING PROCEDURES
In the conduct of its recruitment and hiring processes Tofaş Human Resources makes use of reliable tools and methods that will help identify and select the best candidates. These tools and methods include competency-based/technical interviews, video/telephone interviews, Assessment Center practices, artificial intelligence tests in technical areas, personal inventories, and reference checks.
When adding to its candidates’ pool, Tofaş not only makes use of extramural resources but also publishes position vacancies through the internal announcement systems of Koç Group companies. As part of its efforts to spot and manage talent at an earlier stage, the company keeps its employee-candidate pool replenished by means of a variety of short- and long-term traineeship programs. Through its Assessment Center, which is used to select personnel for managerial roles, it conducts digital “Pre-boarding” and “On-boarding” programs that support the adaptation and development of newly-hired employees by bringing them up to speed more quickly.
TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT
In 2022 Tofaş provided a total of 96,855 hours of training to all of its employees. Average training times among office and field personnel were 25.2 hours and 12.4 hours respectively.
|
TOFAŞ |
DEALER |
SUPPLIER |
# training programs/courses |
96,855 |
36,412 |
2,376 |
# eligible employees |
6,108 |
5,351 |
1,272 |
Average training time/employee |
15.61 |
6.30 |
2.5 |
% online courses |
49% |
62% |
33% |
Attendance |
94% |
84% |
70% |
Total training time (hours) |
164,128 |
Average training time (hours)/office employee |
25.2 |
Average training time (hours)/field employee |
12.4 |
Tofaş Academy
Tofaş Academy’s goal is to provide Tofaş and its value-creation chain with a learning experience that is the most appropriate to people’s ability to do today’s tasks better and to prepare themselves for the future.
Tofaş Academy provides training & development services for about 15,000 people consisting not only of Tofaş employees but also the employees of its dealership network, Customer Contact Center, and suppliers.
Conducting its operations with 249 instructors and 150 mentors, all of whom are employed by Tofaş, 90% of the Tofaş Academy’s technical training is internally sourced. Programs dealing with leadership and behavior issues are prepared according to specific needs and are conducted by both in-house and outsourced training specialists.
PARTICIPANT |
REPORT HEADING |
VALUE |
Monthly salaries |
Total number of participants |
12,642 people |
|
Ratio of digital training |
76% |
|
Average training time/person |
25.2 hours |
Hourly wages |
Total number of participants |
15,052 people |
|
Ratio of digital training |
31% |
|
Average training time/person |
12.4 hours |
Business partners |
Number of supplier firms |
137 firms |
|
Number of supplier personnel taking part in training |
263 people |
|
Total training time |
2,376 hours |
Dealership personnel |
Total number of participants (virtual face-to-face training) |
6,924 people |
|
Ratio of digital training |
62% |
|
Average training time/person |
6.8 hours |
Company-wide development programs
The “Corporate Development” tier at the bottom of the pyramid covers topics that are relevant to all employees throughout the organization. These topics include statutory and regulatory requirements such as occupational health & safety, information security, the Stellantis Production Way, and rules governing ethical behavior. The “Corporate Development” tier also includes development programs specifically designed for leaders and employees to internalize remote work culture throughout the company in the post-pandemic world. Corporate development is supported by face-to-face learning and by online development tools created by the Tofaş Academy Training Experience Platform (LXP) and made accessible through Tindex.
In the Functional Development tier, training is provided by Tofaş’s internal trainers using content aimed at developing 3,680 competencies associated with the functional requirements of 342 roles. Technical training is provided in four different models to accommodate individual learning styles: Self-service, Flipped, hybrid, and Mentoring.
In addition to these four basic learning methods, specialized development programs that focus specifically on the agility, digital-transformation, and future digital skills required by IT and R&D personnel are also provided.
Development programs incorporating the approaches described above can be summarized under seven headings:
To support leadership development, each leader is required to create a progression action plan based on the results of a semiannual leadership climate survey. A leader’s individual development plan may include development tools such as coaching, team coaching, shadow coaching, mentoring, and experience circles.
The effectiveness of all of these programs is tracked on the basis of such key performance indicators as average training time/person, % digital learning content, attendance, training satisfaction score, net promoter score, and training-success score.
Orientation program for new managers
Newly-appointed managers take part in an orientation program that has been designed to address Tofaş’s particular needs. In the first of this program’s four stages, new managers are introduced to the company’s essential HR practices and procedures. In the second, they are introduced to the knowledge and skills they most will need during their first weeks and months as managers. Stage 3 focuses on multidimensional leadership. The fourth and last stage is a six-month development program with modules on self-leadership and team leadership plus inventorying and coaching sessions to prepare new managers for their roles.
In 2022, 33 newly-appointed managers responsible for a total of 300 employees completed this program.
Personalized Leadership Development
New managers continue to receive individualized development support after completing orientation. Twice a year, a leadership climate survey with eight headings is conducted to determine this content. Based on the results of the survey, each new manager receives individualized development suggestions through LinkedIn Learning. New managers also have access to development tools such as individual and team coaching. In 2022, 242 managers received individualized LinkedIn Learning development suggestions.
Self-Service Technical Development Solutions
In self-service technical development, participants were given the opportunity to pick and choose from a catalog of Tofaş Academy resource options to satisfy their own personal development and learning goals prior to 2022. Dubbed “As you like it”, the aim of this approach was to encourage trainees to take responsibility for their own progression. Asynchronous training resources such as videos allowed learners to move forward at their own pace as they wished. Virtual classrooms were provided for trainees who preferred face-to-face training methods and wanted to learn directly from an instructor. Trainees who wanted to specialize in a subject could opt for one-on-one learning.
In early 2022, feedback from employees was collected again and the “As you like it” framework was updated based on the results of an agile project. As part of this updating, asynchronous training was converted to the “Flipped Classroom” method to improve the learning experience. With the reinstatement of pre-pandemic training practices, a “Face-to-Face (Hybrid)” learning method was also designed using both “virtual” and “real-world” classroom encounters. The “As you like it” learning flow was likewise changed to give individual learners the freedom to explore a wider range of subjects and create a personalized learning experience.
PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
In 2021 Tofaş introduced a new approach to performance management whose aims are to support new ways in which employees do their jobs and to speed up adoption of the agile working model. This new performance system is based on encouraging and sustaining dialogue between employee and supervisor. Team leaders meet with their individual team members five times a year, on which occasions targets and results are managed through development-focused dialogues. Because employees are allowed to proactively update their targets as the year progresses, their performance can be managed more dynamically.
Employees’ performance is managed according to a twelve-month calendar so as to bracket career-progression and compensation management as well. Once long-term strategic planning objectives have been determined, managers and specialists work in tandem to initiate the OKR process, which is then completed through individual and joint efforts. At the conclusion of the OKR process, the details of what business results everyone achieved and how they achieved them are individually evaluated. The results of this evaluation are used as input to determine individual employees’ salary increases and bonuses. In addition to this year-end performance review, at midyear each employee’s technical competencies are evaluated and compared with the requirements of their job position. In situations where this comparison justifies it, employees’ salaries and bonuses may be increased by advancement to a higher level.
Two different career-path processes–”Potential Career” and “Technical Career”–are deployed to ensure that performance affects career progression as well as compensation. The Potential Career process is intended to prepare future leaders. The Technical Career process on the other hand focuses on employees who are motivated to create added value for the company by broadening their competencies laterally and on advancing them to positions demanding greater engineering and technical expertise.
CAREER MANAGEMENT
Career management at Tofaş is informed by robustly-designed policies and practices. Its processes include career guidance, rotation, potential-recognition & development, and technical progression among others. For every process there are well-defined stages, standards, and criteria, all of which are transparently communicated to all employees.
Under the “Pusula” career-planning system that was introduced in 2022, employees and supervisors have begun discussing and setting short and medium-term career objectives in much greater detail. These discussions are intended to enable employees to clearly lay out their chosen career paths, to discover alternative paths, and take advantage of progression opportunities. As a result of the introduction of this new process, the percentage of employees making career plans shot up from 34% in 2021 to 98% in 2022.
A POTA Master Class development program is in place to support employee career progression. The goal of this potential-development program is to identify the company’s future leaders and support their efforts and progression. A variety of methods are used in the program selection processes to ensure that evaluations are fair, objective, and transparent. Successful candidates attend a two-year development program that focuses on Tofaş leadership competencies. Employees identified as having potential may be transferred to another position at the company if one opens and its requirements are compatible with their own competencies. Tofaş has partnered with Management Centre Türkiye in the creation of a development program and training content that addresses the specific needs of specialists and managers. In 2022, 93 Tofaş employees (49 managers and 44 specialists) attended the MCT development program.
Tofaş employees are given the opportunity to pursue their own career paths in line with their own career goals through a rotation and promotion program called Kariyerine Yön Ver. All open positions at Tofaş are announced in-house to the company’s own employees first. Field-personnel career-progression processes were revised in 2021 to make them faster, easier, fairer, and more transparent by incorporating alternative examination methods and real-time feedback mechanisms into them. These changes have made the processes more dynamic and compatible with continuous progression.
For in-house promotions and transfers, the company has set up a special program called “Kariyerine Yön Ver” whose standards and procedures are clearly communicated to all personnel. This program encourages employees to explore positions with different duties and responsibilities in a bid to progress according to their own career objectives. The most important benefits of this program in promotion and transfer processes are:
Every Tofaş employee has the right to respond to any announcement of any management position vacancy under the “Kariyerine Yön Ver” program. Every employee who does apply for such a position is objectively evaluated according to a five-step process that is detailed below. This process is intended to ensure that the employee who is selected to fill the position is the one best qualified to do so.
1. Application Package: A document that candidates prepare about themselves and the role they are applying for before an interview.
2. Role-fit Interview: An interview to assess a candidate’s suitability for the position being applied for.
3. Assessment Center: A series of exercises and activities designed specifically to assess the skill set that Tofaş seeks in its leaders.
4. Final Jury Presentation: The candidate prepares a case study related to the position they are applying for and presents it before a panel of senior executives.
5. Feedback Meeting: After the job application process is complete, all employees involved in it receive detailed feedback about each stage. Developmental support is also provided to employees who request it through coaching and mentoring sessions.
In 2022 a total of 34 Tofaş employees were promoted to an immediately senior position. A detailed breakdown of these promotions is presented below.
Information about the number of promotions and promotion rates at the company during the most recent four years is presented in the following table.
|
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
# employees promoted |
10 |
16 |
17 |
34 |
% promoted (# employees promoted / # total number employees) |
1.0 |
1.0 |
1.1 |
2.4 |
Tofaş and the Bursa Provincial Directorate of National Education signed a protocol covering the provision of various occupational training & development resources in order to expand the province’s qualified workforce. Under this agreement, it is aimed to increase the qualified workforce and to give master-craftsmen certificate to the participants at the end of the program.
EMPLOYEE RIGHTS
Financial & Social Benefits
Every white-collar employee who is hired by a Koç Group company is automatically enrolled in the Koç Holding Retirement & Assistance Fund as part of the hiring process. Employees’ contributions to the fund are invested in marketable securities and real estate properties. Upon retirement or termination of fund membership, employees are eligible to receive a lump sum payment or a pension at their option. The Koç Holding Retirement & Assistance Fund provides health insurance coverage for its members and retirees as well as for their spouses and for offspring less than 24 years old. The fund also provides members with a variety of social benefits such as financial support when buying a home or for addressing other needs, and insurance coverage against death, full or partial disability, and illness risks.
Tofaş employees qualify for complementary health insurance in which the company matches 100% of their own contributions. They may also opt to have this coverage extended to their spouses and dependent children as well. As of end-2022, 5,078 employees and 7,813 of their family members (spouses and dependent children) were covered by complementary health insurance.
In 2022 another 342 people joined the “Tofaş Supports Education Once Again” scholarship program that the company originally introduced in 2011 for its employees’ dependent children, thereby bringing the total number of people benefitting from such support to 3,070.
To support women’s participation in the workforce and help them to better balance their work and home lives, Tofaş provides its female employees with unconditional daycare assistance for their dependent children up to 66 months old. Tofaş switched to the Flexible Daycare Assistance model in 2022, allowing all employees who send their dependent children to daycare to benefit from it. At their option, employees may receive cash daycare assistance or else have their children enrolled in an education ministry-approved daycare center. Tofaş introduced daycare assistance in 2016. In 2022, an average of 215 women a month benefited from it.
As of 31 December 2022, Tofaş’s accounts showed a severance pay liability of TL 1,094,875,159.39, all of which was fully covered by provisions. The company regularly and consistently provides its employees with all social benefits as mandated by law.
Tofaş conducts an annual Employee Engagement Survey that provides insights into employees’ overall motivation and commitment. However it was realized that new measurement methods were needed to strengthen all aspects of the employee experience.
In 2022 Tofaş launched its “Sence?” instant feedback platform, which makes it possible for employees to immediately express their opinions about employee-experience issues and submit their views and suggestions about processes. Their input is used to improve the company’s human resources processes.
The “Sence?” platform is accessible from about two dozen locations. To protect submitters’ privacy, all input is anonymized before being sent to Qualtrics for analysis. A dashboard has been created for each process. Each human resources process also has a product owner and an employee experience specialist who together closely monitor the employee experience.
Commissioned in 2022, Zekky Chatbot is a smartphone app that gives Tofaş employees immediate 24/7 access to information about numerous company human resources processes wherever they may be and whenever they wish.
Introduced in 2017, TofaşGO is a corporate internal communication platform that has since become the recipient of numerous national and international awards and recognitions. TofaşGO is a mobile app and web portal that is accessible by all Tofaş field and office personnel. Besides making many aspects of employees’ lives easier, it also ensures the speed and continuity of in-house communication. The number of TofaşGO users is continuously growing: in 2022, every employee used it twice a day on average. Within TofaşGO is a Tofaş Chat Room where employees may freely express and share their ideas and opinions. The room was entered about half a million times in 2022. TofaşGO is regularly improved to reflect changes in technology and user feedback. A “Bana Özel” tab that was added in 2022 for example gives employees immediate, user-friendly access to all human resource processes they might need to know about.
Employee Engagement
The independent consultancy AON Hewitt is contracted to conduct an annual Employee Engagement Survey at Tofaş. In 2022, the survey revealed a company-wide employee-satisfaction score of 70%. Survey results are tracked separately for office and field employees.
In addition to the company-wide score, employee engagement is also tracked on the basis of 15 issues that impact employee satisfaction. Additional surveys and analyses may be conducted on an issue-by-issue basis in light of survey results, with action plans being formulated accordingly.
Respect For Unionization Rights
Tofaş is diligent about protecting employees’ right to unionize. Tofaş values its employees’ right to unionize and to bargain collectively and makes certain that employees are strongly represented in their interactions with the company. Tofaş fosters an environment in which employees may freely exercise their right to organize and bargain collectively. The company also expects its suppliers and business partners to comply with its attitudes towards protecting unionization rights.
In line with the priority Tofaş gives to supporting its employees’ union membership and collective bargaining rights, 75.6% of the company’s employees were covered by a collective bargaining agreement in 2022.
As an employer, Tofaş is a member of the Turkish Employers’ Association of Metal Industries (MESS). The collective bargaining agreement that MESS entered into with the Turkish Metalworkers’ Union on 12 January 2022 will expire on 31 August 2023.
SOCIAL ACTIVITIES
Tofaş employees have formed 22 clubs and 16 sports teams, membership in all of which is voluntary.
Many functions and events that had been suspended owing to pandemic-related restrictions resumed in 2022. Among these activities, the 23 April Children’s Day Festival and series of summer-evening concerts were especially well attended.
During “Tofaş Day”, an event held at the Bursa plant for company employees and their families, more than 18 thousand guests took part in such enjoyable proceedings as organized tours of the factory and staged events for kids, teens, and adults. Concerts rounded out the day.
Located at the Tofaş Bursa plant is an employee rec center that contains a restaurant, a cafe, and indoor and outdoor playgrounds that may be used by all Tofaş personnel and their families. Located within the Mustafa V. Koç Sports Complex at the Bursa plant are a fitness center, basketball courts, and a table tennis area for the use of those who enjoy sports. Outdoor sports facilities consisting of a synthetic pitch, tennis courts, and a basketball court that were opened last year also give all employees the opportunity to take part in sports. Tofaş’s headquarters in İstanbul houses a fitness center that may be used by all employees.
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY
Tofaş adheres to a proactive and lean approach to occupational health & safety and regards it as the most critical element in its OHS management model. The company aims to protect everyone within its operational premises against physical injury and health risks. It does this by fostering a sustainable OHS culture and maintaining safe workplace environments. The Tofaş plant is a leading example of good OHS practices within the Stellantis system and is frequently visited by representatives of many other companies interested in observing its innovative approaches.
Tofaş’s operations in Bursa and İstanbul have again both successfully completed their annual Integrated ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, and ISO 45001:2018 audits and their certifications have been renewed. Tofaş also successfully passed this year’s annual audit for compliance with the ISO 45001:2018 standard (a refinement of the OHSAS 18001:2007 standard) and its certification was once again renewed.
In the conduct of their ISO 45001 audit, auditors focused on the following key issues:
Along with the ISO 45001 standard, both Koç Holding OHS management procedures and Stellantis Production Way (SPW) OHS principles are also in effect at Tofaş. All 6,410 Tofaş employees as well as all contractor personnel on the company’s premises are subject to the requirements of this composite system.
All operations and operational premises, whether routine or not, are subject to the same risk-analysis process. This involves identifying risks and intervening immediately on a provisional basis if necessary; seeking out the most effective methods and more lasting solutions; specifying what action must be taken and following it up. Those involved in risk-analysis processes are provided with all essential training (including technical training such as CMSE and NEBOSH) as may be required to perform their jobs effectively. Risk analysis and associated processes are reviewed as part of annual assessments and feedback is solicited to improve the system.
Employees may always report hazards and dangerous situations directly or through systems to which they have access. Tofaş field personnel participate in OHS inspections through the SMAT system. Tofaş is committed to ensuring that employees at all levels, from management to the front line, understand the benefits of reporting occupational health & safety (OHS) concerns. All employees are protected by labor laws and regulations as well as by Tofaş OHS policy from ever being penalized in any way whatsoever for reporting safety issues. Employees are expressly made aware of this point during OHS training. Systems are also in place that incentivize employees to report hazards.
After every accident or near-miss incident (close call), a PDCA-based detailed root-cause analysis is carried out. For this purpose, an investigation team is formed to consider all available information and identify the root cause of the incident; ways to prevent the root cause from reoccurring are sought out and identified; preventive action is planned, taken, and followed up. These and all associated processes are reviewed weekly, monthly, and yearly. In the course of these reviews, incidents and actions are assessed and feedback for making systematic improvements is obtained.
Tofaş conducts risk analysis to identify and eliminate hazards in all operations and facilities. The OHS field team routinely conducts field inspections and reports any instances of non-compliance. In addition to its dedicated OHS team, Tofaş also uses practices such as SMAT, Safety Patrol, OHS Kaizen, and Safety Captain to encourage all employees to spot and report hazards. To improve the sustainability and quality of these practices, Tofaş provides training and conducts reviews. All OHS-related data is transferred to and managed in a central system. This system is accessible to all employees and is easily reached from any computer or mobile phone.
Bimonthly management meetings are held to review and assess recent developments in OHS issues. These meetings are also attended by union representatives so that their input on the implementation and improvement of the OHS management system may also be solicited. In addition, surveys are likewise regularly conducted to improve the OHS management system. Employees may similarly submit suggestions about OHS systems and practices in a variety of ways. OHS information is provided to employees through various channels such as workplace bulletin boards and information panels, closed-circuit TV in common areas, and posters and banners. OHS information is also accessible interactively through the company’s in-house communication portal.
As required by law, bimonthly OHS committee meetings are held to review OHS issues. These meetings are attended by an employer’s representative, an OHS specialist, a company physician, a union representative, and a company HR officer. Decisions are made by a simple majority of those present.
All employees are given at least 12 hours of OHS training in the course of 24 months. They are also given specific training concerning hazards that may have been identified during risk assessments. OHS training is provided to newly-hired personnel and to those whose job responsibilities change. There is a specially-equipped dedicated training area (dojo) in which, at regular intervals, employees are given hands-on training in dealing with risks associated with their jobs.
The Tofaş plant has a clinic with a five-bed observation and emergency room, a well-equipped analysis lab, and respiratory, eye, and audiometric testing equipment. The company employs six physicians and eight paramedics at the clinic to provide personnel with free medical care. Company-supported complementary health insurance also gives employees convenient and affordable access to many privately-owned healthcare facilities.
Tofaş assesses all risks across all of its operations, prioritizes them, specifies action that needs to be taken to mitigate them, and monitors the results of such action.
Work-related accidents are identified, defined, and prevented from recurring as follows:
1. Hazards are identified through risk analysis, field inspections, and autonomous audits.
2. Root-cause analyses are conducted in the case of any accident which resulted in an injury and which occurred because of improper procedures being followed in maintenance areas.
3. Based on analysis results, corrective action is taken to make work areas safer and reinforcement training is provided as needed.
The following action is taken to deal with health issues not related to work:
Priority is given to using poka-yoke (“mistake-proof”) systems to eliminate hazards and minimize risks through control hierarchies. To achieve this, workplaces and machinery & equipment are modified where possible and work-related rules are changed as needed. Training is also provided in support of these modifications and changes.
There were no fatalities attributable to work-related accidents or illnesses in 2022. Eighteen accidents were recorded last year; nine of them involved only subcontractor personnel; seven of them resulted in work-related injuries or illnesses.
Tofaş employees |
Number |
Percentage |
Fatalities resulting from work-related injuries |
0 |
0 |
Severe work-related injuries (excluding fatalities) |
0 |
0 |
Subcontractor personnel |
Number |
Percentage |
Fatalities resulting from work-related injuries |
0 |
0 |
Severe work-related injuries (excluding fatalities) |
0 |
0 |
Target: Zero Accidents and Occupational Diseases
Tofaş strives to maximize OHS awareness not just among its own employees but also among its trainees, visitors, suppliers, and contractors. To this end, Tofaş commits itself to:
In the year’s round of “Work Safety Stars” awards given out by the Turkish Employers’ Association of Metal Industries (MESS), Tofaş’s “VR Forklift Simulator” project earned its Bursa plant a place among the top three contenders in the “Innovation In Communication” category. A trainee forklift operator wearing a VR headset in conjunction with the simulator can experiment with potential near miss incidents and get a clearer and more immediate understanding of the risks involved in driving a forklift in the real world.
Sustainable, Lean & Proactive OHS Management
Tofaş uses a seven-step methodology to improve and achieve excellence in occupational health & safety.
Steps 1 & 2: The process begins with an analysis of accidents because identifying the root causes of accidents is crucial to their prevention. Another important issue is ensuring that preventive measures are communicated throughout the company.
Step 3: Analyze risks and identify ways to mitigate them. This includes not only legal-compliance risks and risk-assessment but also mitigating risks in non-routine operations through visual-cue management, subcontractor management, and training.
Step 4: Conduct OHS audits and organize safety patrols. In this step, management-level support is essential for increasing employee motivation and promoting safety culture throughout the company.
Step 5: Workers assume responsibility for their own safety with the full support of management. Personal initiative is very important in this step because an autonomous OHS culture can only be created through representatives mediating the relationship between labor and management.
Step 6: Initiate collaborative team-based initiatives and practices that increase OHS awareness among team members.
Step 7: Introduce critical healthy-lifestyle recommendations and campaigns that promote employees’ overall health and wellbeing such as body-age calculations, health & dietician support, and home-safety practices.
Occupational Health & Safety Organizational Structure
Tofaş has a core OHS unit that reports directly to the Assistant General Manager for Environment, Health & Safety. This unit’s team regularly attends weekly review and monthly OHS meetings, which allows them to stay in touch with other departments’ OHS officers.
The core OHS unit is staffed by OHS specialists who are fully qualified in such areas as mechanical, electrical, and electronic equipment and systems, chemical engineering, and so on.
Five full-time OHS officers are assigned to the company’s main production units. They report both to the OHS Unit and to the Assistant General Manager for Environment, Health & Safety.
Within the overall OHS structure there are also seven workplace physicians, nine paramedics, and one dietician who are employed in the company’s clinic. These likewise report to the Human Resources Department and to the Assistant General Manager for Environment, Health & Safety.
